1801, ] 
cobi are at prefent the authors he moft 
eiteems. Herder entertains an equal 
efteem for him. Not fo completely does 
Wieland harmonize with our poet. The 
irregular fancy of the latter offends the 
fine Grecian regularity of the former. 
Wieland however does juftice to the genius 
of John Paul. In particular he admires 
the beautiful and fublime ideality of the 
charaéters in the Hefperus ; and is of opi- 
nion, that fo pure and heavenly a cha- 
ra&er, as Chlotild’s, never before ema- 
nated from the imagination of a poet. 
Richter does not confine himfelf to books ; 
he likewife with great diligence and interett 
ftudies mankind. For this purpofe he 
often feeks the crowded f{cenes of buy life, 
frequents public places, at merry-makings 
and on other feftive occafions mixes among 
the common people, and filently obferves 
their ways and doings with a_penettating 
attentive eye, 
He was lately on the point of marriage 
with a young lady of Hilburghaufen, who 
_ ¥s faid to poffefs a foul congenial with his 
own: but he broke off the treaty, being 
of opinion that he could not make her fo 
happy as fhe delerved. He loves the 
whole female fex, and zealoufly preaches 
againt their oppreflion and {ubjugation by 
tyrant man. 
The lateft produétion of Richter is en- 
titled Titan; where in a high romantic 
flight he attacks the cold egotifm of the 
prefent age. To this work he prefixed a 
matterly poetic dedication to the Queen of 
Pruffia and her three fifters. The Queen 
invited him laft fummer to vifit her at 
Sans-fouci, where he frequently had the 
honour to dine and cenverfe with that 
beautiful and univerfally adored princefs. 
‘This winter likewife he paffes fome time at 
Berlin: but, notwithftanding the flatter- 
ing reception he there met with, he has 
fixed upon Weimar as his ufual place.of 
refidence. Richter’s Romances have all the 
humour of the witty Sterne, whom chiefly 
he has chofen for his pattern, united with 
the pathos of Rouffeau. But he often 
heaps too many metaphors and fimilies to- 
gether, fo as to become tedious and even 
unintelligible. On the whole, indeed, his 
ftyle cannot ftand the teft of ftri& criti- 
cilm. He has created for himfelf a pecu- 
liar rhetoric. When he hall have learned 
to confine within due bounds his exube- 
rant fancy, and to give to his works a 
more pleafing form, he will rank as the 
firft romance-writer of his country. 
is not tranflatable into any other lan- 
guage; but it is worth the while to leaxn 
German on his account alone. 
Account of the Literati of Weimar. 
He 
147 
BOTTIGER, 
Councillor of the Upper Confiftory, and 
director of the fchool at Weimar. This 
celebrated literary chirmer poffeffes the 
rare talent of performing a multiplicity of 
bufinefs in a fhort time. On one and the 
fame day he executes his {cholaftic labours, 
fuperintends the German Mercury, of 
which he is now the fole editor, and the 
Journal of London and Paris, anfwers his 
numerous corre{pondents, &c. and yet in, 
the evening appears at the theatre and in 
the circle of his friends with a cheerfulne{s 
and vivacity of mind which, like his ex- 
ternal appearance, feems not deprefled by 
his intenfe and almoft exceffive application, 
to ftudy ; but exhibits the union. of the 
great talent of facility with the flill greater 
one of profoundnefs. And if any literary ’ 
ftranger arrives at Weimar with letters of’ 
recommendation to him, he ftill can find 
time to fhew him, before fun-fet, all the 
greater and fmaller curiofities of the city. 
. Bottiger’s favourite ftudy is archeology, 
or the application of ancient works of art, 
to the illuftration of the claffics and of the 
monuments of antiquity. His principal 
work is §* Explanations of Tilchbein’s 
Engravings of Hamilton’s new Colleétion 
of Greek Vafes,”? in which he has exhi- 
bited many parts of ancient mythology in. 
a quite new point of view; and on this, 
fubjeét he will fhortly publifhalarge work | 
in Latin, entitled ** Pantheon.” His nu- 
merous contributions to various periodical 
publications treat, for the moft part, on 
antiquarian fubje&ts, efpecially of the the- 
atres on the ancients, relative to which he 
has likewife written a feparate work, not 
yet publifhed. He has likewife prepared 
for the prefs new editions of Terence and, 
Martial, towards which he had been col- 
lecting materials for many years. 
BERTUCH, | 
Secretary of Legation .to the Duke of 
Weimar, whofe fervice, however, he lately 
has left. His great fpeculative genius 
in almoft all the branches of human in~ 
duftry, and his literary merit, are well 
known in Germany. He is the founder 
of fome of the moft celebrated and oldeft 
journals in that country, viz. the Allge- 
meine Literatur-Zeitung, the German Mer- 
cury, the Journal of Fafhions, the Geo-, 
graphical Ephemerides, and others. With 
an unwearied {pirit of {peculation, he di- 
reéts his attention to every quarter of the, 
globe to find out new branches of com-. 
merce... He is conneéted with focieties of 
difcoyery in the moft remoté countries,: 
ereSts new and farms old falt-works, ‘digs 
ru 18 Bi ale 
